


Two Sides of the Same Coin

by RetroactiveCon



Series: Four Times Trouble [5]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Doppelcest, M/M, Polyamory Negotiations, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:55:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24279190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RetroactiveCon/pseuds/RetroactiveCon
Summary: Barry is, for the most part, happy with the new dynamics that have unfolded as he and Len have made room for Ray and Leo. There’s one notable exception: Len and Leo. To be fair to Leo, he tries. Len, however, has been less than welcoming, and while Barry thinks he knows why, it’s painful to watch.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart/Earth-X Leonard "Leo" Snart/Ray Terrill, Leonard Snart/Earth-X Leonard "Leo" Snart
Series: Four Times Trouble [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1706920
Comments: 12
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

Barry is, for the most part, happy with the new dynamics that have unfolded as he and Len have made room for Ray and Leo. There’s one notable exception: Len and Leo. To be fair to Leo, he tries. Len, however, has been less than welcoming, and while Barry thinks he knows why, it’s painful to watch. 

Barry assumes that, for as gently pushy as Leo is with Len, he’s perceptive enough to know not to touch him. This is apparently not the case. In hindsight, Barry realizes, Leo is tactile—he might have observed Len’s hesitance around touch but probably doesn’t understand how deep it runs. 

This is the only reason he can imagine for why, after a particularly tasty supper, Leo leans over and gently kisses Len’s lips. “That was delicious,” he says. “Thank you.”

Len freezes up. “Get off of me,” he snarls. “If you’re that desperate for affection, you have options. _Never_ kiss me like that again.”

Leo recoils as though he’s been slapped. Ray pulls him close and glares a reproach. Barry scolds, “Len!” 

“Doppelgängers,” Len grumbles. He grabs as many plates as he can carry and bolts into the kitchen without another word. 

“I…I don’t…understand.” Leo peers at Barry with too-big, too-earnest eyes. Barry runs around the table to give him a quick, soft kiss. “Why would he agree to this if he hates me so much?”

“He doesn’t hate you.” Barry glances at the kitchen. Len has been characteristically closed off about his feelings toward Leo, but he suspects he knows what’s wrong. “I’ll go talk to him. Just…” He pauses to give both of them kisses. “Maybe go be somewhere else for this? Like, he and I can clear the table. You guys could clean the playroom or something?”

“We’ll keep busy.” Ray ruffles Barry’s hair. “Go on, sweetheart.” 

Barry gathers up the rest of the plates and wanders into the kitchen. Len is standing stiffly in front of the sink, scrubbing a plate as though it’s done him personal injury. “Len?” 

“You don’t have to come try to patch me up, Scarlet.” Len sets the plate in the drying rack with an ominous _clink._ “You could be in there with the version of me that’s capable of real love.” 

“You…Len, that’s what you think?” Barry slides the plates onto the counter and hugs him from behind. He’s stiff and resistant to Barry’s embrace; even once Barry gets his arms fully around him, he doesn’t relax. “No! Leo is more open about his feelings than you are, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have them. And I know you’re capable of love, the way you treat me is proof of it.”

“He’s everything I’m not, Scarlet.” Len keeps washing. He speaks so quietly that the gush of water threatens to mask his words. “He’s what you deserve—they both are. I’m just fucking selfish, and I’ve outstayed my welcome, and…” He shakes his head. “I can’t fathom why that perfect version of me would force himself to kiss me. I have to be like looking in a broken mirror. Doesn’t he hate me?” 

“No!” Barry squeezes him. “No, that’s not it at all. You’re not broken, and Leo’s not perfect.”

“Compared to me, he’s a damn prince charming.” 

“He’s not.” Barry tries to rock. Leonard remains rigid, so reluctantly, he stops. “He’s sweet and open and loving, but the flip side of that is that he doesn’t always know when to stop. He pushes boundaries, and even though he means well, he’s nosy—you’ve just seen that for yourself. And do you know what?” 

Leonard glances over his shoulder. “What?” 

“I love him anyway. So does Ray.” Barry presses gentle kisses along Len’s shoulder through his sweater. It’s so cozy-soft that Barry gets distracted, rubbing his face against the soft cabling until he’s so stim-happy he nearly forgets what he was saying. “Um, right, loving. And you’re the opposite—you’re closed off, you don’t know how to do emotions so you pretend you don’t have any, you’re far more afraid of and upset with yourself than you want anyone to know, but at the same time, you’re so methodical and careful with the people who matter to you. That’s why I love you. That’s why Ray and Leo want to love you, if you’ll let them.”

Len is quiet until the last dish is in the drying rack. Only once the water is switched off and the scrub brush has been set back in its place does he whisper, “I don’t know how to let them.”

“The same way you let me.” Barry rubs his thumb against Len’s belly. The soft material of the sweater bunches and relaxes under the repetitive motion. “Bit by bit, with firm boundaries as you need them. Let them win you over, the way I did.”

Slowly, Len nods. “I guess I can try,” he says. 

Barry thinks of Leo’s question. Although he suspects he knows the answer, he asks it anyway. “Why did you agree to this if you didn’t like them?”

“They’re good for you,” he says without hesitation. “They love you, and you’re happy with them. I thought…” He looks fleetingly guilty. “I thought you’d be so happy you’d realize a broken old thief had no place in your life.” 

“Len.” Barry keeps his voice low and compassionate. That statement cuts, both with pain that Len ever felt that way and anger that he thought he could hand Barry off. “I want you. And I’m not a pet to be handed off to better owners. I’m fully capable of choosing for myself. And I choose all of you—the broken thief, the tired freedom fighters. We make each other better. That’s the point of this.” 

Len glances toward the other room. When Barry follows his gaze, he catches a glimpse of Ray still sitting at the table. He suspects Leo is with him. 

“Remember what I said about nosy?” he prompts with a gentle smile. 

Len nods. He doesn’t smile; rather, he looks so nervous that Barry’s heart breaks for him. “So…how do I do this?” 

“At your pace.” Barry squeezes him. “They’ll give you time.”

Barry trails him back to the table. Leo and Ray strike up a not-particularly-convincing conversation and don’t seem overly alarmed when Len says, “So you were listening.”

“Sorry,” Leo says, not at all convincingly. 

“It’s all right.” Len approaches him as he might approach a complicated trap—as though he wants to figure him out but is cautious of what he might do in the interim. “You’re me, after all. I’d do the same.” 

“Not _exactly_ you,” Leo stresses. “As Barry pointed out, we’re two sides of the same…slightly dented…coin.” 

Len’s hands flutter. It’s a weirdly adorable nervous habit from a man who prides himself on not having any tells; Barry has only seen it in intimate situations. He stills them by pressing one to his side and cupping the other against Leo’s cheek. When he leans down, it’s faltering, full of little pauses before he moves again. By the time their lips meet, Leo is smiling. 

It’s a quick, awkward kiss. When Len draws away, Leo doesn’t try to pull him back. 

“That shouldn’t have been so hard,” Len snaps. He doesn't sound frustrated with Leo; Barry's guess is that he's annoyed with himself.

“You’re pushing yourself,” Barry interjects. Ray lays a calming hand on his arm. When Barry glances at him in confusion, he prompts, 

“You know what Leo loves?”

Both of them arch identical eyebrows. Len answers, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “Having someone play with his ass?” 

“Well, yes, although part of that is indulging me.” Ray offers Barry a playful wink. “I was going to say, though, that he loves having his head rubbed. There’s a little sweet spot just behind his ear, kind of at his hairline.”

“Traitor,” Leo hisses. When Len rubs the spot Ray described, his playful aggravation melts into unabashed purring. “ _Yes._ ” 

“You really never shut up, do you?” Len asks, but there’s not as much irritation in his tone as there would have been mere minutes ago. 

“I’ve been told it’s endearing.” Leo grins. 

“Hmm. Don’t push your luck.” Despite his threats, Len doesn’t stop petting Leo’s head. In fact, he seems perfectly content to make him purr and relax. 

“I’m gonna keep cleaning up,” Barry murmurs. Their plates and silverware have been cleared away, but the leftovers haven’t. He grabs two dishes and hurries back into the kitchen. Ray follows close behind him, carrying a third. “That was a good call, telling him to do that,” he adds. 

“He likes touch he can control,” Ray says with a shrug. “I figured that’d work.”

“Yeah, but thanks, you know.” Barry bops up and down on the balls of his feet, feeling vaguely like a video game avatar in idle mode. “For paying attention to that, and suggesting something.”

“Well, perhaps I had an ulterior motive.” Ray sets the dish down on the counter and settles his hands on Barry’s hips. “While they explore each other, I can take some time to kiss you…”

“Nice try.” Barry sets the bowls down, turns around, and gives Ray a quick peck on the lips. “But I don’t trust them _that_ much.”

Ray considers. “Fair point. Rain check?” 

Barry grins and leads the way back into the other room. “I’d like that.”


	2. Chapter 2

Len doesn’t warm up right away. It’s a gradual process, starting with careful kisses after a meal or before bed. The first time they kiss during sex—not for long, and over Barry, who’s happily submitting to their care—makes Barry coo happily. He brings it up after the scene. 

“I was surprised when you two kissed,” he murmurs. It’s hard to keep his eyes open given the way Len is petting his hair, but he gives it a try so he can see their reactions. “I guess I thought you weren’t to that point.”

“We’ve kissed before,” Leo says in confusion. He smiles up at Len. “Often, in fact.”

“I mean…” Barry starts. 

“During sex.” Len grazes his fingernails over Barry’s scalp. Barry is suddenly far less interested in talking than in melting onto the bed. “It’s more intimate…more vulnerable.” He shoots a not-particularly-subtle glance at Leo’s exposed body. “And it was, but not as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Would you be willing to do stuff without me as a buffer?” Barry has gotten the impression that he’s all of their safe zone—their own dynamics can be eased just by his presence (with the exception of Leo and Ray, whose dynamic predates their arrangement). 

Len bites his lip. “…Can we work up to that?” 

Barry smiles and pulls him into a kiss. “Yeah, of course. Whenever the two of you are comfortable. You’ve already come a long way to be this comfortable kissing each other, and that means a lot to me.” 

Len glances down at Leo, who’s watching them with open affection. Then, slowly, he scoots down to press a lingering kiss to the prickly-short hair at Leo’s temple. “You’re all so sweet.” 

“We all love you very much,” Barry murmurs. 

“We do,” Leo agreed, then added thoughtfully, “And we’ll tell you again when you’re ready to hear it.”

Perhaps, Barry realizes in retrospect, they shouldn’t have been so effusive with their praise. Len clearly takes it to mean that they want him to be willing to have sex with Leo. The next time they’re in bed together, he kisses him more deeply and skims shaking hands over his body. Just as quickly, he recoils. “I’m sorry. Not yet.”

“It’s okay,” Leo coos. “You can move at your pace. I’m not going to hold it against you. And…” He nudges his nose against Len’s. “…it’s absolutely all right for the two of us not to have sex. You don’t have to push yourself to do something you don’t want to.”

“I _want_ to.” Len curls closer to Barry. “Just…not yet.”

“We’ll be patient,” Barry coos. He kisses Len’s brow, then his nose. “You deserve that from us.”

True to Barry’s word, they’re patient with him. Once he accepts that he doesn’t have to push, Len opens up beautifully—not just to Leo, but to Ray. It’s cute, Barry muses, how in the right circumstances, both Len and Leo will respond to Ray’s suggestions (although at the time, Barry is usually too blissful to give it much thought). 

This new dynamic unfolds fully one night when, with an uncharacteristically nervous look, Len asks, “Could tonight…would it be okay if…I just explored with Leo?” 

“Of course.” Barry tones it down from a delighted exclamation to a reassurance. He doesn’t want to scare Len by being too enthusiastic, not when he has a habit of either retreating or pushing himself too far under pressure. “Do you want Ray and me to watch?”

“I…” Len glances at Leo, who’s got his head cocked in a cute, encouraging look. “I’m not going to make you leave.” When Barry opens his mouth to tell him that’s not an answer, he corrects, “Yes. I want you both to stay.”

“Then come here, sweetheart.” Ray coaxes Barry over to the chair, sits down, and pulls Barry into his lap. From this angle, they’ll be able to watch while feeling removed enough from the scene that they won’t distract Len and Leo. “We can watch from here.”

Slowly, carefully, Len pulls Leo into a kiss. One hand slides down to brace his back; the other runs through his prickly-short hair, scratching at his scalp in a way that makes Leo whimper. Leo’s hands skim over Len’s back. He might not mean to find Len’s scars, but he does. Each time he encounters one, he traces it with loving fingertips. 

“On the bed,” Len orders. 

Obediently, Leo rolls onto the bed. He ends up on his side, which makes Ray chuckle against Barry’s neck.

“He does that when I haven’t told him front or back. It’s cute to see him do it for someone else.”

Len must hear, because he laughs when he pins Leo on his back. When he leans down to kiss him, it’s the softest kiss they’ve shared yet, and neither of them stops smiling until they break apart. “So,” he teases in a voice so low Barry can barely hear it, “you’re me but switchy?”

“Extraordinarily bold of you to assume you’re not,” Leo replies. The effect is lost because of the way he gasps when Len knocks his legs open wider. “Well, okay…”

“I said I want to explore,” Len murmurs. He trails kisses down Leo’s neck and along his shoulder. “So be a good boy and let me explore.”

While the two of them explore each other with eager hands and greedy mouths, Ray coaxes Barry up off his lap. Then he has Barry sit down in the chair and sinks down into his lap, facing away from Len and Leo. Barry is bewildered until Ray starts kissing his jaw. “Remember I promised that we’d get to spend some time together?” he murmurs. “I think I can finally deliver.” 

Barry does his best to keep watching Len and Leo over Ray's shoulder, but it’s hard to think when Ray is grinding slowly against his cock. “Please Sir, I’ll be good.”

“I know you will,” Ray agrees. He arches his back and grinds their hips together, so slowly it must be a cruel tease even for him. Barry whimpers and tries to arch up into him, but he's too thoroughly pinned down to move. “But that means being patient, sweetheart.”

Obediently, Barry tries to turn his attention back to Len and Leo. Len is nuzzling a burn scar that covers the right side of Leo’s abdomen. “What happened?” he asks between kisses. “Mick?”

Leo makes a sorrowful affirmative noise. “Tell you later? It’s—” He sighs. “It’s the quickest way to put me off what you’re offering.” 

Len nods and leans up to kiss his lips. “I shouldn’t push,” he agrees. “I’m not you, after all.”

While Leo is still grumbling about being called pushy, Len coaxes him onto his hands and knees, settles behind him, and starts eating him out like it’s his singular goal in life. Leo moans and grinds back on Len’s face. “Yes, yes _please_ …”

Len just hums. Barry laughs at Leo’s desperation (he knows how amazing it feels to be on the receiving end), only for that laugh to trail into a whimper when Ray circles a finger around his nipples. 

"What are they doing, pretty boy? Leo sounds like he's into it." Before Barry starts to talk, Ray adds, "And make sure to be detailed."

"Uh." Barry tries to remember how words work. He understands Ray's game now, but that doesn't mean he'll be able to play it. "L-Len is, um. Eating Leo's ass. Slow, thorough. Greedy. He loves it, he's, um, he's told me he loves it. Leo is, _oh."_ Ray skims his hands down to Barry's hips and squeezes. The pressure makes him temporarily forget how words work. When he remembers, he does his best to continue, "Leo is on his hands and knees, grinding back against Len's face. He looks so desperate..."

“Do you think you can hold on until Leo comes?” It’s not an order; it’s a challenge. That’s one way to get to him. Barry will (usually) do his best to obey an order—the thrill of being called ‘good’ is too delightful to disobey—but he never backs down from a challenge. The thought of impressing his Doms gets to him like little else, even over something so silly. “I don’t know if you can. You’re such a quick little boy…”

“I can,” Barry murmurs, resisting the urge to roll his hips up against Ray. “I can do that.”

“Hmm.” Ray doesn’t sound like he believes it. Louder, for Len’s benefit, he says, “He’s so easy, isn’t he?”

“Mine or yours?” Len pulls back and reaches for the lube. Barry half-expects Leo to flip them over while he has the opportunity, but he doesn’t; he stays in the same position, face buried in the pillow. 

“Both,” Ray admits with a chuckle, “but I meant Leo.”

Leo mumbles into the pillow. Len taunts, “I didn’t catch that,” only to thrust two slick fingers into Leo’s ass when he lifts his head and tries to answer. Leo’s words turn into a long, low groan and he fucks back onto Len’s hand. “I don’t think you need the prep,” Len taunts. “Like Ray says, you’re easy.”

“Well.” Leo makes a little breathy noise, half-laugh, half-whimper. “Helps that you’re thorough.”

"What are they doing?" Ray coaxes. Before Barry can answer, he starts sucking a bruise into the sensitive skin under Barry's ear.

"U-um. Leo is still on his hands and knees. Len has two fingers inside him," Barry stammers, "slicking him up, stretching him open. He wants to be inside him, but he's gonna take his time, he always does."

Without looking, Ray says, “Move him around. He loves that.” Barry can’t figure out if it’s a suggestion or an order. If it’s an order, Ray is very sure of himself to tell Len what to do.

“Oh, sure.” Len pulls Leo up onto his knees, then crawls around to face him. They kiss, deep and slow. Equally slowly, Len sits back and guides Leo forward until Leo is straddling his thighs. When they break the kiss, Len leans back against the pillows to give Leo better access and pulls him further forward. “You’re going to ride me,” he orders. “So settle in for the ride.”

“Oh yes Sir,” Leo says playfully. He slicks up Len’s cock and sinks down onto it with a little pleasured noise. “Can’t say I ever… _hmmm_ …thought about what it would feel like to have me inside me, but it’s _so fucking good_.”

“Well.” Len laughs. “Can’t say I ever thought about what it would feel like to fuck me, but here we are.” He delivers a little swat to Leo’s hip. “You know you can move.”

“I told you.” Okay, that’s Ray’s Dom voice. He’s _ordering Len around_. Barry would be afraid for him if that voice didn’t make him melt. “Move him around.”

Len arches an eyebrow. “Yes, _Sir_.” He cups Leo’s hips and coaxes him to move. Leo huffs a laugh. 

“Oh, so _I’m_ the switchy one? Okay, okay, fuck…”

While Leo adjusts to Len’s rhythm, Ray swivels his hips, acting like he's riding Barry's cock. “Have to admit,” he murmurs against Barry’s ear, “I didn’t think he’d listen.”

Barry manages a laugh. Neither did he, but he’s not sure he can say so without being too loud and disturbing Len and Leo. He can only imagine how Ray can keep so much focus on what Len and Leo are doing without seeing them and while focusing on Barry, although he suspects the two of them being talkative helps.

True to Ray’s teasing, Barry doesn’t last as long as Leo. In his defense (or the defense he would offer, were he coherent enough), Ray’s rhythm is much faster than Len and Leo’s. Nor is Ray in a position to criticize: not long after Barry comes, he grinds himself to completion against Barry’s belly. 

“Look.” Len cups Leo’s chin and turns him to look at Barry and Ray. “Guess we put on a good show.” While Leo is staring at them, Len sits forward and starts sucking bruises into his neck. “Which means you can come now. Doesn’t it, Ray?”

Ray chuckles, his face buried in Barry's neck. “That’s your call.”

“Oh, says the one giving me orders,” Len drawls. He cradles Leo’s ass and starts moving him faster, slamming his hips up to meet Leo as he sinks back down. The harder, faster thrusts punch little needy noises out of Leo. Barry pinches the base of his own cock to keep from getting hard again just from those noises. 

The two of them come within a minute of each other. In the aftermath, Leo burrows his head into the curve of Len’s neck and cuddles him. Barry expects this to be the thing that jars Len out of the scene; instead, Len wraps his arms around Leo’s back and pulls him even closer. 

“Should we…” Barry asks quietly. The two of them haven’t been this vulnerable with each other for this long before, and disturbing them seems wrong. 

“Absolutely not.” Len beckons with one arm. “This bed is big enough for the four of us.”

“You heard the man,” Ray laughs. He gets up out of Barry's lap, helps him to his feet, and wanders over to the bed with him. “Cuddle up.”

Cuddling up together in a pile makes everything seem both more and less intimate. Barry is worried about driving Len and Leo apart when they should be close, but he can’t resist asking Len, “Was that okay?”

“Better than okay, Scarlet.” Len kisses him. “I could do that again.”

“Well, nice to hear that, anyway,” Leo teased. He curls against Len’s other side and kisses his shoulder. “Thank you. I know that was more difficult for you than for me, so…thank you.”

Len stiffens awkwardly, but manages a curt, “Yeah,” and a kiss on Leo’s brow. It’s the same hesitance about sentiment that Len had when he and Barry were first starting out, but it’s such progress that Barry can’t help giving him another kiss.


End file.
